Means for preventing the overfilling of hoppers



April 8 1924. 1,489,938

W. E. HALE MEANS FOR PREVENTING THE OVERFILLING 0F HOPP ERS Filed May 12, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 8 1924; 1,489,938

W. E. HALE MEANS FOR PREVENTING THE OVERFILLING OF HOPPERS Filed May 12 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,489,938 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. HALE, OF FORT WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO B. H. BEAU- MONT COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVAN IA.

MEANS FOR PREVENTING THE OVEBIILLING OF 'EOPPEBB.

Application filed May 12, 1922. Serial No. 580,488.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. HALn, a citizen of the United States, residing n Fort Washington, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,- have invented certain Improvements in Means for Preventing the Overfilling ofHoppers, of which the follow-.

elevator, that discharges its load into a ho per.

11 the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a hop er of a coal handling plant,--showing a. skip oist in dotted lines and illustrating my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, showing the detail of the electric stop mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3, Fig 2; and

ig. 4 is atperspective view, showmg the pivoted plate and the electric switch carried thereby.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the hopper of a coal handling apparatus having an inclined bottom 2 and vertical walls 3. In the present instance, 4 is a skip hoist bucket and 5 is a rail on which the bucket travels. The bucket and rail are shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. Hoppers are usually located at a considerable distance above the point where the operator is stationed, consequently, it is dlficult for the operator to note when the hopper is filled.

By my invention, the electric mechanism, which controls the movemeiit of the skip hoist, or' other elevating mechanism, will be automatically stopped when the material in the hopper reaches a certain hei ht.

In one of the side walls 3 of t e hopper is an opening 6. Enclosing this opening is "a plate 7 attached to a cross bar 8 at the upper end. This cross bar rests on brackets 9 at each side of the o ening, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. e lower end and sides of the plate are braced by an angle bar 10, in the present instance, and the movement of the plate is controlled by a screw 11, which extends throu h a bracket 12 secured to the hopper. On t is screw are nuts 13 for lockmg the screw in the position in which it is adjusted.

It will be noted that project into the ho per and prevent the escape of the materia from the ho per at the bottom and at the sides when t e late is pushed out against 'the screw by t e material in the hop r.

Mounted on t e. plate 7 is a standard switch 14 havin an arm 15 provided with a roller 16, whicl i bears against an extension 17 of the bracket. When the plate 7 closes the opening 6 in the hopper, the switch is in such position that the main electric current will be uninterrupted and the motor, which the angle bars 10 drives the skip hoist, or other elevating de-- vice, will be in operation, the skip hoist elevating the material, which is dischar d into the ho er. The skip hoist is usua y automatica y operated and will continue filling the hopper until the mechanism is stopped.

By installing in proved means for preventing the over ling of the hopper, the material that is discharged into thehopper, as it increases in height, will bear upon the plate 7, and the pressure of the material will cause the plate to be forced towards the screw 11. This movement will cause the roller 16 of the switch arm to be moved into such position that the contacts in the switch box will be broken. This breaking of the contacts will cause the main switch, which controls the motor that drives the skip hoist, to stop the mechanism.

As soon as the material recedes from the plate, as it is drawn ofi from the bottom of t eho per, the plate is freetoreturnto its normal c osed position. This permits the switch arm 15 to move to its first position, bringing the contact points of the switch together. This movement operates the main switch that controls the motor that drives the skip hoist, so that the skip hoist will be set in motion again to load material into the hopper.

It will be seen that this mechanism is entirely-automatic so that the hopper cannot be overloaded.

While the mechanism for filling the hop-.

@ msaeee per is described as a skip hoist, it will be understood that any suitable elevating mechanism may be used, which will be under the control of a switch.

I claim:

1. The combination of a hopper having an opening at one side; a plate pivotally mounted at the opening and arranged to be forced out by the pressure of material in the hopper; a switch carried by the plate, said switch having an arm; and a stop for shifting the arm when the lplate is forced away from the opening by t e action of the material in the hopper.

2. The combination of a hopper having an opening at one side; a plate pivoted to the outside of the hopper and arranged to close the hopper; a bracket; a set screw therein for limiting the outward movement of the plate; and a controlling switch mounted on the plate and having an arm bearing against the bracket so that, when the material reaches a given height in the hopper and forces the plate outwards, the plate will come in contact with the screw and the switch arm will be actuated to throw the switch. 3. The vcombination of a hopper having an opening at one side; a plate plvotally mounted on the outside of the hop er and arranged to close the opening; an ad ustable stop for limiting the outward movement of the plate; and a switch arranged to be actuated by the outward movement of the plate, said plate having a flange on the inside extending into the opening so as to prevent the material in the hopper from flowin out of the opening when the plate is force out by the pressure of material in the ho er.

WEE 1AM E. HALE. 

